Choose, Your Girlfriend or Iron Weasel?
by EverLastingXLove
Summary: Tripp's cousin Layla is coming to town, when she and Derek meet its like love at first sight. Now, Tripp is getting jealous and Derek is paying more attention to his girlfriend than to the band. What will become of Iron Weasel? I DO NOT OWN I'M IN THE BAND OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS, I ONLY OWN THE OC.


_**Choose, Your Girlfriend or Iron Weasel? **_

_**Chapter 1: Guys Meet Layla!**_

**O**ne early morning Beth Campbell was rushing around the house picking up the mess that her son and his three rocker friends had made yesterday. She then made her way into the living room and began picking up the stray pieces of clothes when she came across something sticking out of the sofa cushions.

"What in the world?" she muttered as she set the laundry basket aside and leaned forward to pick it up.

When she pulled it out her eyes widened, it was a pair of white underwear covered in some sort of yellow substance.

"Is that mustard?" she gasped, she then noticed a noticed a name tag in the back that read 'Burger Pitt.'

Beth then rolled her eyes and tossed the disgusting pair of underwear in her laundry basket and set it aside. She then made her way into Tripp's room to wake him up, his cousin was going to be here soon and she wanted everyone to be up and ready. When she turned on the light he groaned and rolled over.

"Wake up Tripp!" Beth said loudly as she placed her hands on her hips.

"No…five more minutes." Tripp grumbled.

Beth then rolled her eyes and walked over to Tripp's bed and ripped the covers off.

"C'mon, wake up. Your cousin is coming in today and we need to get ready." she said.

Tripp then sat up in bed and a huge smile appeared upon his handsome face.

"Layla? She's coming over?!" he asked excitedly. Tripp and Layla had been close ever since they were kids.

"Yeah, don't you remember?" Beth asked curiously. She told Tripp a week ago.

"No…" Tripp muttered as he looked down, trying to recall. "Oooh now I remember! That was the day when we were all playing Bowling Ball Pong!"

Beth rolled her eyes then made her way over to the door, she then looked over to Tripp and let out a sigh.

"Get the guys up, you don't want me to do it for you." she said as she walked out of the room.

When the Tripp and everyone finally got around it was nearly time for Tripp's cousin to arrive. Derek then let out a sigh and strode over to the sofa, and taking a seat.

"Why do we have to get up and meet your cousin?" he groaned, Derek was never a morning

person.

Tripp let out a sigh and looked over to Derek, he then plopped down on the arm chair and propped his feet up on the coffee table and picked up his guitar, strumming it softly.

"Because, you guys live here now…your life family so I thought it would be only fair that you meet my cousin." he explained.

Burger smile and took a seat on the arm chair near the kitchen with a bag of potato chips in his hands.

"Really? You think of us as family?" he asked happily.

Tripp smile and nodded as he began strumming the chords to one of their songs.

"Yeah, we're a band…so that means we're a family right?" he grinned.

Tripp really hoped that Layla would get along with the guys, he didn't know what he'd do if they didn't get along, but he didn't worry about it too much Layla was a pretty cool girl so he was almost positive they would get along instantly.

**A**fter a few hours passed Ash was sitting on the sofa with Derek watching '_Yo, Check My House'_, Tripp was sitting in the arm chair playing his guitar, and Burger was stuffing his face with more potato chips. They were all so into whatever they were doing they didn't even heard someone knock on the door. Burger then paused, his mouth full of chips as he looked around curiously.

"Do you guys here that? Or is it just me?" Burger asked curiously, a few chips falling out of his mouth and into his blonde and black goatee.

They all paused and listened very carefully, it took them all a few minutes before they realized someone was knocking on the door.

"Should one of us get that?" Burger asked curiously as he shoved a handful of potato chips into his mouth.

Tripp thought for a long moment before shaking his head.

"Nah, mom will get it." he muttered as he continued strumming his guitar.

After a few moments of knocking Beth walked into the living room and rolled her eyes as she looked around at the four guys sitting in her living room.

"Don't all rush at once." she said sarcastically as she walked over to the front door.

"Kay." they all said in unison, sounding like a pack of zombies.

Beth then opened the door, revealing Layla apparently she was a bit early. Layla was a very beautiful young woman with long blonde hair on the right side of her head and the left side was shaved, she had bright beautiful blue eyes, she was wearing a cut up Alice Cooper T-shirt making it a tight fit on her slender body, tight black jeans that were ripped at the knees, and a pair of studded combat boots.

"Layla! Look at you!" Beth grinned as she pulled the girl into her arms and gave her a tight squeeze. "You've gotten so big!" she smiled.

Beth then shut the door and looked over to Tripp who seemed to block out everything, he looked very focused on his guitar playing.

"Tripp! Come say hi to your cousin!" Beth called.

Tripp looked over his shoulder and smiled at them as he quickly set aside his guitar and walked over to them.

"Layla!" he grinned as he enveloped her in his arms, he was now a head taller than her. When they were kids she was always the tall one, her being older than him.

"Tripp! You've gotten taller dude!" she giggled.

Tripp then pulled back and looked at her, she looked so different from back then. Back then she had short blonde hair, braces, and big rimmed glasses and now she was completely different in a good way of course.

"Wow Layla, you look great!" he smiled.

Layla gave him a sweet smile and kissed his cheek softly.

"You do too kiddo." she said softly. 'Kiddo' was always his nickname to her, at first Tripp hated to be called 'kiddo' but the nickname seemed to grow on him throughout the years.

Tripp then took her hand and pulled her further into the living room so he could introduce her to the guys.

"Layla, I want you to meet the guys." he said proudly, but the rockers were far too focused on the television to even notice Tripp was talking about them.

"Guys!" Tripp called loudly, causing them to jump.

"What?" they said in unison.

"I want you to meet my cousin, Layla." he said.

When the guys set eyes on her their mouths dropped and their eyes grew wide as they slowly stood to their feet. But it would seem Layla had the most impression on Derek, due to the fact he was practically drooling over her. Burger then slowly held out his hand and smiled.

"H-hey, I'm Pitt I mean Burger! I mean hi…I'm Burger Pitt." he said attempting to seem smooth.

Layla smiled softly and shook his hand.

"Its nice to meet you Burger." she said sweetly.

Ash then gave her a brief hug and looked at her for a long moment, before returning back to earth.

"Hi, I'm Ash but everyone calls me Ash." he said with a goofy smile.

Layla giggled and eyed the drummer curiously for a long moment.

"Clever nickname, I like it." she said with a smile.

"Aw yeah." Ash grinned as he looked over to Burger who gave him a nod and a smile.

Derek then pushed his way past Ash and Burger and gently took her hand in his, placing a soft kiss upon it.

"Hello, I'm Derek Jupiter lead singer and leader of the band Iron Weasel." he said smoothly.

Layla smiled softly and looked up at him with her bright blue eyes, there was something about him that she liked.

"Its very nice to meet you Derek." she said softly.

Derek smiled and stared into her eyes for a long moment, he seemed as if he was lost in her gaze. He didn't even let go of her hand they just stood there gazing into each other's eyes intently. Tripp looked between then two of them curiously and gently nudged Derek.

"Uh, Derek?" he muttered.

Derek then blinked and looked over to Tripp then back at Layla.

"Uh, right…it was lovely to meet you Layla." he said with a smile as he let go of her hand.

Tripp then rolled his eyes and grabbed Layla's hand gently, tugging her over to the bedrooms.

"C'mon, I'll show you your room." he said

"Sounds great!" Layla smiled as she looked over to the guys who were still starting at her in awe. "I'll see you guys later then." she smiled, making eye contact with Derek once more before following after Tripp.

Once she was gone Derek smiled a bit and slowly ran his hand through his long shoulder length brown hair.

"What was all that about, man?" Burger asked.

"I dunno, but I feel all warm and weird inside…" Derek muttered as a small smile appeared upon his handsome face.

Burger and Ash smirked as they looked over to Derek who was starting off into space with a love struck expression painted all over his face.

"Derek likes Layla!" they said in a teasing tone.

Derek then rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as they looked over at the two of them for a moment.

"I bloody do not." he grumbled. Which was completely a lie.

**B**ack in Tripp's room he and Layla slowly began unpacking her belongings after Ash and Burger ever so kindly volunteered to help bring her bags up to her room. As Layla was setting out her clothes she looked over to Tripp and smiled.

"So, those guys were very charming." she laughed.

"You think so?" Tripp smiled. "Usually they aren't that polite." he chuckled.

"Well, I think they are very nice, especially that Derek." Layla smiled as she put her guitar case on the bed.

"Derek? You…..you don't like him…do you?" Tripp frowned.

"Well, I mean he's really handsome…and pretty charming." she smiled as she played with a strand of her blonde hair.

"Please don't tell me you have a crush on him." Tripp groaned.

"Maybe, is there a problem kiddo?" she asked as she placed her hands on her hips, arching a delicate eyebrow curiously.

"You can't like Derek!" Tripp said sternly.

"And why not?" Layla smirked as she watched her younger cousin, she was twenty two years old she wasn't about to take dating advice from a sixteen year old.

Tripp then let out a sigh and looked over to Layla, he looked deep in thought for a long moment before decided to speak.

"You can't like Derek, he's the lead singer of the band…I don't want girl drama pulling the band apart." Tripp said.

"Girl drama? C'mon Tripp you act like you don't know me at all. I totally respect you and the band….besides your talkin' to a girl who doesn't put up with drama remember?" she smiled as she patted his shoulder gently. Tripp then let out a sigh and nodded.

"I know Layla, but you don't know the real Derek….he's arrogant, cocky, selfish, narcissistic….I don't want him to use you. I don't want to see you hurt again." he confessed.

A frown then appeared upon Layla's face as she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Alright Tripp, I understand…its just a little crush, I won't act on it anyways…I promise." she smiled as she looked into his eyes.

"Alright, thanks Layla." he smiled softly. "So, how about we all go out to Burrito Queen? Izzy is working there now, I'm sure she'll love to see you." he smiled, he remember how wonderful of friends they use to be when they were younger…besides Izzy had been dying to see her again.

"Sounds great, Kiddo." Layla grinned.

**T**he ride to Burrito Queen was quite a long one, well for Tripp anyways. Burger was driving, Tripp was in the passenger seat and Layla was sitting in the back between Derek and Ash. Tripp could almost feel Derek Checking out his cousin, it was making him a bit uneasy.

"So, Layla I have a question for you." Ash said as he looked over to her.

"What is it?" Layla asked as she looked over to the spiky haired drummer.

"Why'd you shave one side of your head but not the other?" he asked cluelessly.

"Well, one side of my head was hot and the other side was cold…so I shaved the hot side." she said sarcastically.

"Yeah? I hate when that happens, but that's a very good idea I never would have thought of that." he nodded, taking her statement completely seriously.

Tripp smiled and looked over to Ash and shook his head.

"You know she was being sarcastic, right Ash?"

Ash shook his head and looked over to Tripp.

"No thanks, I had some before I left." he said with a blank smile.

Layla laughed and shook her head, Derek then nudged her gently and gave her charming smile.

"I like your sarcasm." he said in a flirty tone.

Layla then smiled and looked into his eyes for a long moment, as she admired his handsome features.

"Thanks, well I really like that accent of yours." she flirted.

Layla knew she promised Tripp she wouldn't act on the little crush she had on Derek, but she didn't find anything wrong with a little harmless flirting here and there. Once they pulled into the parking lot of Burrito Queen Derek scooted out of the Band Van and held out his hand for Layla to take. Layla smiled and placed her dainty pale hand in his as she carefully stepped out of the van.

"What a gentleman." she smiled.

"Anything for a beautiful young lady such as yourself." he grinned.

Their eyes locked once more, her hand still in his. Every time they touched or looked at each other, they both felt some sort of spark that couldn't be ignored. Tripp then walked over to them and sighed.

"What's taking you guys so long?" he asked, slightly irritated.

Layla then turned to Tripp and smiled softly.

"Derek was helping me out of the van." she said simply.

Tripp rolled his eyes and locked his arm with hers, pulling her away from the charming British singer.

"Well, your out now…lets go eat." he said, not even bothering to look back at Derek.

"Tripp Chill, he was just being nice." Layla whispered.

"He's just nice to you because he likes you." he grumbled, causing Layla to roll her eyes.

Ash, Burger and Derek followed after them. Though Derek was a bit out of it due to the face he was staring at her behind in those tight black pants of hers. Burger then looked over to Ash and frowned.

"What's up with Tripp, man?" he asked curiously as he stroked his blonde and black goatee.

"I dunno, maybe one side of his head is hot?" Ash suggested.

Burger smiled and nodded. "Your totally right!"

Once inside Burrito Queen they all stood in line, waiting for Izzy to take their order. Burger then sighed and rubbed his rather large stomach.

"How long is this gonna take? I'm hungry." he whined.

"We're almost there, don't worry." Tripp reassured the hungry bass guitarist.

Once it was their turn Izzy looked at Layla and smiled widely.

"Layla!" she said happily as she held out her arms for a hug.

"Izzy!" Layla grinned as she leaned over the counter giving Izzy a tight hug.

"Tripp told me you were coming to visit! Its great to see you!" Izzy smiled.

"Its great to see you too!" she smiled brightly, she then eyed Izzy's uniform and smirked. "Nice uh….taco salad crown?" Layla giggled.

"Make fun of it all you want as long as you tip me." Izzy grinned. "So, what can I get ya?"

"Well, your taco salad crown looks pretty good. I think I'll have that." Layla smiled.

"I'll have an order of What's The Quesadillo's." Tripp smiled.

Burger then walked up to Izzy and smiled at her.

"I'll have a Nacho best look….because that's Not-Yo best look!" he laughed.

Izzy rolled her eyes and started at him with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Really? That's all you got? You used that one on me last week." Izzy sighed. "Can't you come up with something better?"

"Well, that's all I got….just get me the Nachos." Burger sighed.

Ash then pushed his way up to the front and gave everyone a rather confident smile.

"I got this guys." he said as he leaned against the counter and started at Izzy with a rather intense gaze. "I want a quesadilla…..with chicken." he laughed. "Burn!" he said as he crossed his arms.

Izzy rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "Good one, Ash." she said sarcastically.

"Aw yeah!" Ash grinned.

Izzy then looked over to Derek who happened to be staring at Layla.

"What do you want Derek?" Izzy asked.

"Layla…." Derek muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, causing everyone to look at him. Derek then blinked, realizing what he just said.

"There is a meal named after Layla?" Ash gasped as he turned towards Izzy. "I want a side of Layla with mine!" Ash smiled.

"Ash, that's not on the menu." Izzy said.

"Yeah it is, Derek just ordered it! Get the taco salad out of your ear holes!" he said. "Which reminds me…." he muttered as he pulled a Q-tip from his pants pocket and put it in his ear. "I forgot to clean the taco salad out of my ears." he smiled.

Derek then looked around nervously, no one had ever seen Derek look that way before. He even had a bit a blush appear upon his cheeks.

"I want uh….an order of The Sun Will Come Up Tamales." he said nervously.

"Are you sure? You seemed like you really wanted La-"

"I'll get a table!" he said quickly, cutting Izzy off as he wandered over to a near by table.

Izzy smirked and gave Layla the table number. "I think Derek likes you."

Layla blinked and looked at her with wide blue eyes. "Really?" she gasped.

"Duh. You should sit next to him." Izzy smiled as Tripp counted up he money for their meal.

Layla then took the number and looked back at Derek who was sitting at a near by table, looking out the window nervously. She couldn't help but think of how handsome he looked, Layla was crushing on the rock star badly.

"I think I will…" Layla smiled.

**O**nce they got to the table Layla was about to take a seat next to Derek but Tripp grabbed her hand and guided her to a seat between him and Ash. Layla looked over at Derek and sighed as she looked back to Tripp and gave him a polite smile.

"Saved you a seat." Tripp smiled.

"Thanks." Layla sighed.

"Yeah, I even wrote your name in En el fuego sauce on the seat so no one would take it." Ash grinned.

Layla blinked and looked down at her seat to see nothing there. She then looked back at Ash who was grinning at her.

"Um, no you didn't." she smiled softly as she took a seat.

Ash blinked and stroked his chin. "I could have sworn….." he muttered. His brown eyes then widened as he looked around.. "MY BUTT IS EN EL FUEGO!" he shouted as he jumped up, revealing a huge En el fuego sauce stain on the back of his pants. He then ran off to the bathroom to cool his behind.

"Ash! That's the girls room!" Tripp called, but it was too late.

Ash then stumbled out of the girls room a few moments later, covering his eyes. "AH! MY EYES ARE EN EL FUEGO!" he shouted, removing his hands from his face, showing that his eyes were covered in En el fuego sauce. Once of the women must have gotten startled and squirted some into his eyes.

Ash then made his way to the men's room, but he ended up running straight into the wall, knocking himself unconscious.

"C'mon little man, we better go help him." Burger said as he stood from his seat.

"Yeah, we'll be back." Tripp said as he followed Burger.

He then stopped next to Izzy and looked back over to the table where he left Layla and Derek sitting by themselves.

"Watch Derek and Layla." he said.

"What? Why?" Izzy asked confused.

"Just make sure Derek doesn't put the moves on her." Tripp said.

"No, they look cute together." Izzy said as she crossed her arms.

"C'mon Izzy for me?" Tripp begged.

"What's in it for me?" she asked curiously as she eyed her best friend.

"I'll uh…give you a big tip….and uh…you can sing a few gigs with Iron Weasel." he said as he looked over at her with pleading eyes. He couldn't let Derek and Layla out of his sight for a second…and he trusted Izzy to watch them and pull them apart when he got too close.

"Deal!"

"I could use some help, little man!" Burger called.

"Coming!" Tripp called as he went to Ash's aid.

**L**ayla looked over to Ash and frowned, she then looked over to Derek who was looking at her with a charming smile placed upon his face.

"You think he's going to be alright?" she asked in a worried tone.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." Derek smiled as he stood and walked over to her, taking a seat where Tripp once sat. "About earlier….I didn't mean to say that….I was deep in thought and I once had a cat named Layla so…" he rambled on.

Layla giggled and turned to him, gently placing her hand over his. Derek then stopped his rambling and looked into her eyes for a moment.

"Its fine, I thought it was kinda cute." she smiled.

Derek then looked at her for a long moment, and frowned.

"Cute? How dare you Madame! Derek Jupiter is not 'Cute'!" he said as he stood from his chair, looking down at her with an offended looking stare.

Layla smiled and looked up at him with her bright blue eyes and Derek instantly felt himself melt as he slowly took his seat and placed his hand on hers.

"Alright, I suppose it was rather cute, wasn't it?" he smiled.

"Uh-huh!" Layla giggled as she scooted her chair closer to his.

Izzy then made her way over to the table and placed their food in front of them, she was about to turn away when Layla grabbed her wrist gently causing her to turn.

"How's Ash?" she asked.

"He's fine, the guys took him in to wash out his eyes. They should be back soon." She said, for some reason she didn't have the heart to pull them apart even if it meant she couldn't sing with Iron Weasel, there would be other chances right? Derek and Layla just looked so adorable and happy. Besides Layla would be good for Derek. "If you guys need anything don't feel free to call me, I'll be on my break. Enjoy your food." Izzy said as she left them alone.

Layla smiled and picked up her plastic fork, taking a small bite of her taco salad. Her eyes then twinkled as she looked over to Derek with a smile.

"Mmm, this is really good." she smiled.

"Is it?" Derek asked.

Layla nodded and smiled as she held up her fork full of taco salad to him. "Here, try some." she said softly.

"Don't mind if I do." Derek grinned as he leaned forward and took a bite.

Their eyes then locked once more and Layla couldn't help but blush, it felt as if her heart was going to beat right out of her chest….she had never felt like this about anyone before. Derek then pilled away the corn husk of his tamale and held up a his fork full of tamale's.

"Want to try some?" he asked with a charming smile.

"I would love too." she smiled as she leaned forward to take a bite.

Tripp then exited out of the men's room just in time to see them together, sharing food. For some reason that just made his blood boil, he didn't want to share his cousin with Derek. He knew how Derek was, and he didn't want to see Layla hurt again…especially after he had to help her through her last break up.

"Izzy!" Tripp shouted causing Izzy to jump.

Izzy then stood up from the table she was sitting at and walked over to him with an annoyed look on her face.

"What?"

"I thought I told you to keep them apart!" he sighed.

"I'm on my break." Izzy said with a shrug. "What's wrong with them liking each other anyways?" she asked.

"Because he's Derek!" Tripp said as he crossed his arms.

"Good point." Izzy said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

Tripp then made his way over to the table where Derek and Layla were sitting, he needed to put a stop to this now.

"Here try some of my rice." Derek smiled as he held out a spoon full of rice for Layla to eat.

Tripp then rushed over to them and knocked the spoon out of Derek's hand. Derek then blinked and looked over to Tripp with a confused expression.

"What the bloody hell was that about kid?" Derek frowned.

"Uh….a fly! Yeah, there was a fly on the spoon….I you know….didn't want Layla to eat it." Tripp lied.

"I didn't see a fly." Layla frowned.

"That's because I got to you just in time." Tripp grinned.

Layla nodded slowly and eyed him curiously, there was something strange going on here. "Where's Ash and Burger?" she asked.

"Burger is trying to get the stain out of Ash's pants they'll be back in a bit." he said as he nudged Derek. "Your in my seat."

Derek then looked at Tripp and arched an eyebrow, he didn't know why Tripp was acting so strange but he didn't like it.

"Sit in another chair kid, I'm kinda sitting here." Derek said in an annoyed tone.

"Yeah, but I was there first." Tripp said.

Layla rolled her eyes and looked up at her cousin, she couldn't believe how immature he was being today.

"Tripp, what are you four? Sit in another chair." she said as she gave him an icy blue glare. She knew he didn't want her to date Derek but what was wrong with them being friends?

"Fine." Tripp grumbled as he took a seat where Ash once sat.

Derek and Layla's eyes widened as they looked over to Tripp. "No! Wait!" they said in unison. But it was too late. Tripp's eyes widened as he looked over to the two.

"T-that's…..hot." he whispered.

Ash and Burger made their way to the table once they saw where Tripp was sitting their eyes widened.

"Tripp! Don't sit there!" Ash said. "That's where the En el fuego sauce was!"

Tripp sighed and nodded slowly as he looked up at him. "I-I realized that Ash…" he muttered.

"Ooh, then why didn't you say so?" Ash smiled as he looked over to his food. "Ooooh! Quesadilla with chicken! Aw yeah!" Ash said as he began to eat.

Burger then patted Tripp's shoulder and gave him a small smile. "You alright little man?" he asked.

"Do I look alright?" Tripp grumbled as he shot a glare at the bass guitarist.

"Uh…oh look! Nachos!" Burger muttered as he slowly moved away from Tripp and began to stuff his face with the messy cheesy chips.

**A**fter they were finished eating they all piled into the Band Van. All the way home they were talking about the look on Tripp's face after he sat in the En el fuego sauce, which was getting on Tripp's nerves. Also the fact that Derek and Layla were sitting closer to each other then they were before was getting to him too. Tripp loved Derek, he was one of his best friends but he did _**NOT**_ want him dating his cousin.

"Remember the look on Tripp's face? It was like 'Ah! My butt is on fire!'" Ash laughed.

"Yeah! You want some En el fuego sauce little man?" Burger teased.

"Yeah, I got you a bag to go, kid." Derek laughed as he held out a Burrito Queen bag full of En el fuego sauce.

"Shut up guys!" Tripp grumbled under his breath as he slumped down into his seat.

"Hey Ash, what dose Tripp plus En el fuego sauce equal?" Derek snickered as he looked over to Ash.

"Uh…hold on a second.." Ash muttered as he began counting on his fingers. "Um…five? I dunno, I'm not good at Science." Ash sighed.

"Guys!" Tripp shouted causing the whole van to fill with silence.

"Kay." they all said in unison.

All was silent for a while and Tripp was finally beginning to calm down, but then Burger decided he was going to open his mouth.

"En el fuego…" he chuckled, which made the whole van burst out into laughter.

Tripp sighed and shot Burger a glare. He then turned around in his seat and looked over at Ash who was still laughing at what Burger said.

"Hey, what about when Ash sat in the En el fuego sauce? The look on his face was hilarious!" Tripp laughed, hoping to get everyone off the subject of himself.

"Hey…that's not funny, it still burns." Ash frowned.

"That was messed up little man." Burger said as he shook his head in disapproval.

"Yeah, that was harsh kid." Derek sighed as he leaned over to gently pat Ash's back.

"Oh come on guys!" Tripp sighed as he rolled his eyes, the whole ride home he stayed silent.

**O**nce they got back to Tripp's house they wall wandered into the living room, making themselves comfortable, Tripp was the last one to enter the room he was just not having a pleasant day so far. He thought having his cousin here would be fun, but now when all she wants to do is make eyes at Derek. Tripp then plopped down in the arm chair near the window in a huff, his eyes wandered over to Layla who was sitting a little too close to Derek and it was obvious by the look on his face he was digging all the attention. Tripp was going to suggest that they all go to bed just to get Layla and Derek away from each other until Ash ran into the room holding up DVD case.

"Hey! Lets watch Spiders, Snakes, and Clowns!" he smiled.

"Oh, I love that movie!" Layla smiled.

"No!" Tripp said as he got to his feet, causing everyone in the room to stare at him. Layla then frowned and arched her eyebrow, she didn't know why Tripp was acting so strange today.

"What's wrong kiddo? Isn't that your favorite movie?" she asked.

"Yeah, but uh…Burger is afraid of spiders, Ash is afraid of clowns, and Derek is afraid of snakes. I don't want them to get too scared you know.." Tripp explained with a smile.

"Aw, how sweet of you Tripp." Ash smiled as he hugged him tightly.

"Ash! Let go!" Tripp grumbled as he managed to get out of the drummer's grasp.

"That is nice of you little man, but you know we over came our fears ages ago!" Burger smiled.

"That's right kid, besides I have Layla to protect me if I get too scared, right?" Derek smiled as he looked over to Layla.

Layla giggled and nodded as she looked up at him with her bright blue eyes. "Of course, Derek." She said sweetly. She then turned towards Tripp and smiled softly. "C'mon kiddo, relax. Maybe watching a movie will make you feel better." she said.

Tripp rolled his eyes and took a seat, throwing his feet on the coffee table. He knew he was going to have to watch Derek and Layla the whole movie…he didn't want anything happening while he was looking away.

"Fine…" he sighed.

Ash then put the DVD in and took a seat on the sofa next to Layla. Burger then stood and walked over to the light switch.

"Hey, lets turn off the lights it'll make it scarier!" he said with a smile.

"No!" Tripp shouted, turning off the lights meant Layla and Derek would become more cuddly. That was the last thing he wanted to see! His cousin and his best friend being all lovey dovey to each other.

Layla then looked over to Tripp curiously and frowned, she didn't know what his problem was but it was starting to get on her nerves a bit. Was this all because of Derek?

"Dude, what's with you today?" she asked.

"I uh…I'm afraid of the dark." Tripp lied.

"Since when?" Layla asked confused, she never knew Tripp to be afraid of the dark.

"Just leave the lights on alright?" he sighed as he slumped down into his seat.

Ash then leaned over and patted Tripp hand with a smile. "I'll be here to protect you bro." he said sweetly.

Tripp eyed him and slowly moved his hand away from his, he then put on a fake smile for him and nodded. "Gee, thanks Ash." he said sarcastically.

"I got your back Tripp." Ash smiled as he settled back into his seat.

"Its settled then, no lights!" Burger said as he shut off the lights and took a seat.

Before Tripp could say or do anything else the movie started. This was going to be one long night for Tripp. He then noticed during the movie Layla would occasionally grab onto Derek's hand or his arm and he would just sit there and smile like an idiot as he scooted closer to her. Tripp didn't take his eyes off of them the whole time. Then half way through the movie Layla's eyes were glued to the screen until Derek tapped her on the shoulder causing her to look at him, he then leaned in for what it looked like a kiss. Tripp's eyes widened, but before he could do anything Ash screamed causing everyone to jump and look at him. Tripp smirked and walked over to the light switch and turned on the lights. _Thank you Ash…._Tripp thought.

"Boy, that was pretty scary huh? Well, its getting late lets all get to bed!" Tripp said quickly.

"Bed? But its way too early for that." Burger frowned. "Besides I wanted to show Layla how to play Bowling Ball Pong!"

"And I wanted to show Layla my guitar." Derek smiled as he looked over at Layla who was still hanging onto his arm.

"Yeah, and I wanted to show Layla my bellybutton!" Ash frowned.

Tripp then paused and looked over at the spiky haired drummer of Iron Weasel who was looking back at all of them with a blank expression.

"Your bellybutton?" Tripp asked confused.

Half of the time he had no idea where Ash was coming from, it was like he was in his own made up world. But Ash was a great drummer and person also he helped Tripp out many times in the best ways he could, so Tripp couldn't help but love him.

"Yeah, I keep all my valuables in there. Wanna see?" Ash asked as he pulled up his red T-shirt, revealing his bellybutton.

Burger blinked and looked at Ash's bellybutton curiously for a long moment.

"Hey, are those my pictures of Beth I took when she wasn't looking?" he asked.

"You have pictures of my mom?!" Tripp asked confused, he knew Burger had the hots for his mom but he didn't know he had it _that _bad. "You know what? Never mind, lets just go to bed alright?" Tripp sighed, he didn't even wanna know about those pictures Burger was talking about.

"Kay." the guys said as they all turned to Layla.

"Goodnight Layla!" Burger smiled as he wrapped his big arms around the slender girl, picking her up and spinning her around.

"Goodnight Burger." she giggled as she placed a kiss on his forehead, causing his face to grow as red as an apple.

Ash then wrapped an arm around her and rested his head on hers. "Goodnight Layla. Can I touch your head?" he asked.

Layla let out a giggle and nodded as Ash reached out and gently stroked the shaved side of her head, a huge goofy grin then appeared upon his face.

"Aw yeah! It feels so soft!" he said happily as Layla leaned up and kissed his cheek, causing him to go red as well.

Derek then took a step forward and looked down at her with a gentle gaze, it was obvious to anyone with eyes to see how much Derek liked her, but Tripp didn't even want to think of what good of them being together would bring.

"Goodnight, love." he said softly as he held out his arms for a hug.

Layla then smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, burring her head into his chest. Layla felt herself melt into his long warm embrace.

"Sweet dreams, Derek." she said softly as she took a step back and looked up at him with those mesmerizing eyes of hers.

"What? No good night kiss for the handsome singer?" Derek asked as he leaned forward, with his lips slightly puckered and ready for her sweet goodnight kiss.

Derek was obviously expecting a goodnight kiss on the lips unlike the other members of Iron Weasel who only got cheesy cheek and forehead kisses, besides who could resist Derek and his British charm, right? Layla giggled and gently placed her hand on his cheek, giving him a small yet lingering kiss on his other cheek. Derek's cheek then turned a slight shade of red as he stood up straight, that wasn't what he was expecting but at least it was a bit longer and more intimate than the other's, right? Tripp then rolled his eyes and grabbed Layla's hand, pulling her towards their room.

"Night guys." he grumbled.

"If you get lonely you can always crawl into my bed, Layla." Derek called out as he blew a kiss in her direction.

"Knock it off and go to bed guys!" Tripp called as he and his cousin disappeared.

"Dude, what's up with Tripp? He's kinda acting all up tight." Burger sighed.

"Yeah, I think there is something brothering the kid, but I haven't the foggiest idea what it is." Derek sighed as he shook his head, Derek was honestly worried for Tripp. Ever since Layla got there he had been kinda treating everyone, especially Derek like dirt. "Perhaps we should give him a talking to in the morning and see what's bugging him?" Derek suggested.

"Good idea." Burger nodded as he patted his stomach and yawned. "Well, lets go hit the sack."

"You guys go, I'll be there in a bit I'm going get my left over P from the fridge, I'm hungry." Ash said as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Derek and Burger looked at each other curiously for a long moment, they then shrugged and headed towards the guest room to get ready for bed.

**B**ack in Tripp's room Layla was about to crawl into bed until Tripp came back from the bathroom and looked over at her. He was going to confront her about her behavior with Derek tonight.

"Hey Layla, can I talk to you?" he asked as he walked over to her side of the room.

Layla turned to him and nodded as she took a seat on the bed. "Yeah, what's up kiddo? You've been acting weird all day." she said softly.

Tripp crossed his arms and sighed as he started at her for a long moment, with a very serious expression upon his handsome boyish face. He was trying to figure out a delicate way to put this without upsetting Layla, because that's the last thing he wanted, due to the fact he hated to see her upset and they were also sharing a room for a few weeks and he didn't really feel like sleeping on the sofa or in the garage.

"What was going on today between you and Derek?" he asked curiously.

Layla looked at him curiously, she knew this strange behavior had something to do with Derek.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously, playing dumb.

"You know what I mean! You two were all over each other today, I mean you only just met." he grumbled.

"I was just being friendly." Layla smiled. "And so was he."

"Yeah, but its really obvious you two have a thing for each other. I really don't want you dating him Layla…besides you promised that you wouldn't act on your crush you have on him." Tripp said as he eyed her.

"Tripp, I'm just being friendly. I promise…things wont go any further. Derek and I can't help we happened to hit if off well as friends, now drop it alright?" she sighed as she pinned up her hair.

Layla honestly really wanted to see where her and Derek's friendship would lead if it went any further, because she never felt like this before. She liked it, but she wanted to respect Tripp's wishes.

"Kay, just try to keep the friendliness to a minimum." Tripp said as he got up and plopped down on his bed.

"Whatever you say, kiddo." Layla sighed as she turned off the bed side lamp.

**B**ack in the guest room Derek was laying awake, starting at Burger's bunk above him blankly, he couldn't sleep all he could think about was Layla. No woman had ever had this sort of effect on him before.

"Burger, Ash? Are you awake?" Derek whispered.

"No." they both grumbled in unison.

"Great, now I have a question. Do you think Layla likes me?" he asked. "Well, of course she likes me I mean look how charming, talented, and handsome I am!" Derek grinned. "Anyways do you think I should as her on like…a date?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, I guess so." Burger muttered.

Ash then smiled and looked over his bunk and down at Derek.

"Go for it bro!"

Derek grinned and nodded as he began tapped his chin, he was very deep in thought. He had never been so nervous about asking a girl out before, usually he would be very confident about it. Because who could resist the charming British heartthrob know as Derek Jupiter? Nobody, that's who. Derek had always had hot girls crawling all over him, begging for his love and affection. All Jupiter men were ladies men.

"Alright, I think I'll do that then." Derek said with a determined smiled as he turned on his side and closed his eyes. "Night Burger. Night Ash." he said.

"Night Derek. Night Ash." Burger yawned as he rolled onto his back.

"Night Burger. Night Derek. Night Brandon." Ash smiled.

"What?" Derek and Burger asked in a confused tone.

"What?" Ash muttered.

Derek rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Never mind, just go to sleep. This handsome rock star needs his beauty sleep." he grinned as they all slowly drifted off to sleep.


End file.
